Observances about nature and life
from just outside Victoria BC . . . and from sundry other locations

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Scarlet Runner Flower

For Ruby Tuesday today I present the flower of the Scarlet Runner bean. I plant these every year and enjoy the lovely scarlet blooms. Actually I like the flowers better than the beans, which I find a little hairy, and usually grow too big before I get around to harvesting them. This year I discovered that the flowers are edible too. They make a nice addition to a salad.

And just for contrast I'm including a photo of the Tomatillo bloom. This plant is very pretty with its tiny flowers that hang down with their faces to the ground. So far we've had only the flowers and I don't know if we'll actually get any tomatillos. Perhaps it's not quite hot enough for this plant that usually grows in Mexico.

Happy back to school and real life day on this Tuesday after Labour Day.

6 comments:

The previous owners of our house had planted tomatillos but they never ripened. But yesterday, I ate some from my son's garden in Steveston...yummy! Apparently, they are rampantly self-seeding and their many plants are leftovers from last year! Scarlet runners are my favorite beans. They have a robust taste to go with the sturdiness. You're right about the hairy older ones, though.

hi joanne, it's really great to come back from a day and see someone who's all over a scarlet runner bean!! seriously. it's so calming and reminding. because they are really gorgeous and i could love them up just as much without the food they represent!!!! beautiful. thanks. steven

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About Me

Occasional musings from Haliburton Hill, just outside of Victoria, BC. I live here with my husband Harry and our two Border Collies. We're empty nesters now as our son Jamie is at UBC. I started blogging about our winter trips to Mexico and the habit stuck.